Not Taking it for Granted

How many times have we heard the old axiom, don't take your health for granted. Yet, often times we do until it is too late and something happens. A month ago, I caught a cold while staying with a friend in CA. It hit me hard and stayed with me for a long time, so I was not feeling all that well when my family headed to Michigan for my mother-in-law's funeral in late March. Flying is never fun with congestion and I really felt the pressure on both flights.

I was improving slowly and on one of our last nights in MI, my wife's cousin brought over some pizzas that were thickly cheesed, and I had a few slices with a glass of wine. Three hours later, I experienced some severe upper stomach/chest pains that were very similar in scope to what I experienced after the decadent Francesinha tasting (judging) in Portugal last October. I realized the common thread in both "attacks" was large quantities of cheese. I was acutely aware of where the pain was and all symptoms and did some quick research online to see what I could find. I wasn't concerned that this was heart related given where and what type of pain I felt. It bought me a little time and finally, I decided to ask my wife to drive me to the local ER, thinking that I was pretty sure as to the causation.

To make a long story, much shorter … after a night into day of all kinds of tests, my fears were spot on. This had been a gall bladder attack, and a single stone was found inside that organ, which would have to be removed altogether. Fortunately, there was no blockage of the bile duct or liver and therefore, I was able to be discharged and the next morning, we flew back home where I immediately got in contact with my physician. I was able to get scheduled for the following week.

On Monday of this week, I underwent the surgery necessary to remove my gall bladder and have been at home recovering ever since. Now three days later, the post-op pain is still there, but I was lucky to catch this early on and was able to have laparoscopic surgery (using a scope and four small incisions). Supposedly, I will be able to return to my normal dietary plan in due course. Right now, that is hard for me to fathom. I can say that I am not taking my health for granted and am blessed to have had an excellent surgeon do the procedure. So for those of you wondering why it had been awhile since I have been able to drink wine, there it is.